Mick Schumacher is celebrating his 24th birthday today. An unusually quiet one for him. The son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has been racing non-stop for almost 15 years. That will be over in 2023.
A new, unfamiliar phase in Schumacher’s career has begun. After two years of racing in Formula 1 with Haas, he now just sits in the garage. As a test and reserve driver in the Mercedes F1 team. That remains a conscious decision in light of his F1 career.
Start for Schumacher in the new Mercedes job
“I enjoy the work,” Schumacher told Sky. “Of course, I would like to drive myself, but I’m happy to be here and to be able to learn.” A year off – he expects more opportunities for his future in Formula 1.
Many substitute drivers were, and are, in other racing series. But Schumacher is committed to his new Mercedes job: “It’s interesting to learn from them and to be present at meetings,” said Schumacher. So he wants to position himself for a comeback.
“Being present at meetings and seeing how they talk about the session, how there is feedback, that’s very interesting,” says Schumacher about his previous experiences. Both during the tests and on the first two race weekends, he also spent the sessions next to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff in the garage.
Schumacher’s new tasks continue to revolve around race weekends. He is present at all races. In between, he does simulator work at the team’s headquarters in Brackley. Mercedes has high hopes for this. Especially since the F1 W14 of the 2023 season has proven to be another difficult case.
Schumacher’s chance of a Formula 1 comeback via Mercedes
A test driver like Schumacher, with experience from 43 GP starts, brings added value. Alex Albon proved that at Red Bull in 2021. After losing his mission cockpit, he earned a reputation as a test driver and a meticulous developer who provided good simulator feedback. Red Bull then sprinkled Albon roses in the paddock. In 2020 the Red Bull RB16 was a difficult car. The fact that Max Verstappen won the World Cup with the RB16B in 2021 is partly due to Albon.
For Schumacher, such rehabilitation through a development job is ideal. In 2022, Williams offered Albon a full-time cockpit again, and he has now established himself there. A similar path would be conceivable for Schumacher. Especially with the problems of the current Mercedes.
MORE NEWS: Sebastian Vettel helps Mick Schumacher back to F1 Grid
These are also an opportunity for Schumacher personally. A major development program is currently underway at Mercedes to get the ailing car up to speed. If Schumacher makes valuable contributions, word quickly gets around in the paddock. This likes to arouse interest in other teams.
And Schumacher has never been so closely involved in a top team, not even when he was a Ferrari junior. Of course, he drove for two years at Haas, but that’s the smallest team in Formula 1: “The differences are to be expected. Of course, it’s a huge company, a huge team.” Sitting in briefings at Mercedes and following a world-champion team with winning drivers like Lewis Hamilton and George Russell is a very different way of experiencing an F1 weekend.
For the time being, Schumacher will remain exclusively with Mercedes. He drove his last competition at the beginning of the year – the Race of Champions in Sweden. A more than conciliatory last appearance: In the individual competition he defeated his friend and mentor Sebastian Vettel, and in the final, he just missed out on ex-DTM driver Mattias Ekström.
